Saab went bust and a buyer has as yet not been found who will make the neccesary investments to keep the brand alive.
A lot of people say the real Saab identity was lost when it was taken over by GM in the early 90s and they were forced to produce Saabs on the Opel Vectra floorpan, which by then had outdated handling characteristics, even by Opel standards.
Saab made some great cars in their time. In 2006, I visited the Saab museum in the swedish town of Trollhattan, a few kilometers from the factory. On display were many cars, from the first Saab from 1948 called Ursaab (or primal Saab) right through to the latest 9-3 Viggen. The Ursaab is a fantastic aerodynamic design, clearly showing the origins of the company, producing aircraft.
The Ursaab design spawned several models which were produced into the 1980s! A sure sign of a great design. Although these cars were severely underpowered with their 3 cilinder, two stroke engines, they managed to win several international rallies.
In the late 1960s, Saab wanted to produce a bigger, more luxurious model. They called in a mr. Sixten Sason, who drew the Saab 99. Another great design with many innovative features. It was fitted with a turbo in the 70s, making it one of the first production cars to feature such a device, along with BMW and TVR.
The 99 was stretched out to make it bigger for US markets, which led to the 900, my favourite Saab. I owned a 900 a few years ago and enjoyed it thoroughly. It is one of only a few cars I am comfrotable in, with my 1,96m length.
This is the car, a 1984 900S 2.0 litre in beautiful white with "Inca" alloy wheels.
I still dream of a Saab 900 turbo now and again. I'd like a black "Aero" one, please.
There has been talk of the Saab museum's collection would be broken up and auctioned off. Fortunately, this has not happened and the historical cars of the great Saab marque will stay largely together and in Sweden. Let's hope they will stay on display for a long time to come.
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